Photo: Controversial Post Office Mural To Be Restored

The controversial mural “John Eliot Speaks to the Natick Indians” painted inside the post office here [Natick, MA] is going to be restored next week [see photo below] , according to federal officials.

The mural, painted by Natick native Hollis Holbrook in 1937 as part of a New Deal program for creating art in public buildings, depicts a late 1600s scene where Puritan missionary Eliot is preaching to a group of his “Praying Indians,” whose hands are bound.Dallan Wordekemper, federal preservation officer for the U.S. Postal Service, said 1,200 murals were created during the period, though most of them were painted on canvas. Natick’s mural, which is one of 1,100 murals left, was painted fresco style right on the wall of the post office.The mural was damaged by a roof leak a few years ago. The leak was fixed recently, allowing the restoration project to go forward, he said.The job, which Wordekemper is paying for out of his budget, will cost about $10,000, he said. He hired Parma Conservation of Chicago to restore the mural. Full story